


the more things change

by natalunasans



Series: Fellow Adventurers [7]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka
Genre: Adventure, Bars and Pubs, Character Analysis, Companions, Friendship, Gen, POV Alison, POV Character of Color, POV Female Character, POV First Person, TARDIS rooms, Team TARDIS, fears, relationships are hard, the weirdness of life with the doctor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2016-05-14
Packaged: 2018-06-08 07:22:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6844717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natalunasans/pseuds/natalunasans
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>written on <a href="http://alisoncheney.tumblr.com/">@alisoncheney</a> blog as a response to an anon who asked Alison what were the best and worst things about living with the Shalkas, and about whether or not the timelords had been honest in their own answers to previous questions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the more things change

**Author's Note:**

  * For [yellowbessie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellowbessie/gifts).



> because it's been too long since i posted anything, so...

So I was going to say that the best part was the adventures… and that’s partly true. I’ve learned so much and seen so many indescribable things.  Which doesn’t stop me trying to describe them.  I had to start a journal, cos when I even think about talking to my friends or mum and dad about some of the stuff we’ve done… I realise they’ll think I’m mental. I could say I’m doing a gap year, but I’m not even sure when I’ll get back, like what if the Doctor manages to drop me off the day after I left? Nobody teaches you the protocol for phoning or email while you’re time-travelling.  And like, I miss them, I've even missed Joe once or twice… but they might none of them have even had time to miss me.  So that’s probably the worst thing, is not being able to share the experience with people i used to know. I find it’s easier to make friends - even temporary ones - along the way, than to try to make sense of this life to the people I left behind. I don’t know what it’ll be like when I go back ( _if_ i go back?) but I guess I’ll figure out something.

When the Doctor first asked me to travel in the TARDIS… well, they didn’t know how to ask me, but  _ himself _ asked for them.   
I was like,  _ yeah!  _ … anything to get out of Lannet, and away from the awkwardness of whether or not to break up with Joe, I mean, you can't just tell a person “oops, you’re really nice but I didn’t realise you were so flipping  _ dull _ until like six months after we moved in together.”

And then, once I’d said yes to the whole time travel thing, I was like wait, they’re not bringing me onboard as the tea-lady, are they? I don’t mind watching the two of them fix stuff and handing someone a spanner, especially if I get to learn something meanwhile. Even though I’m not great at mechanics, it’s  _ intresting.  _ But I’ve willingly had an alien  _ put back inside my head _ to help save the planet: I think I earned the right to be a proper member of the team.  So it was sort of a relief to find out who was “Master” of cooking and all the other domestic stuff - I love how these two don’t worry about gender roles… if they even  _ have _ those where they’re from.

So then when the Doctor convinced the TARDIS to flippin’  _ grow _ a pub… like at first it was fun to know a skill that they didn’t, you know? But then I started thinking, I didn’t want to be the tea-lady and I don’t want to be the lager-lady either.

It took me less than a week to convince a certain annoyed android that tending bar was a great way to fight boredom and meet ~~innocent~~ interesting people. Because of course the TARDIS can re-arrange things so the bar opens out the side of the ship and we can set up anywhere that the Doctor needs attract some of the residents and casually find out what’s going on about whatever they’ve been sent to look into. The Doctor kept getting distracted and mixing things wrong, but of course got all competitive once the other guy turned out to be such a quick study.  We had to stop the Master drugging the drinks, but pretty sure he’s still hypnotising folks to think we’re their local that’s always been there, and that the three figures behind the bar don’t look quite as out-of-place as we are in most parts of the galaxy. 

You always have to stay on your toes with that one, he gets bored if he isn’t plotting to make trouble somehow, even if he doesn’t get to go through with it most of the time. He’d never admit it, but he seems to almost enjoy being out-manoeuvered by the Doctor. I’m not saying he  _ lets _ them win, but it seems like these days he gets more fun from the potential of evil, than actually doing it. I think he’s afraid of the Doctor falling into another depression. Last time things got really bad, it must’ve taken a lot out of both of them. 

These two aren’t as misleading as they try to be, once you know how to read between the lines. They’re just very… they like to keep the illusion of dignity. Which can be hard when your life is as weird as theirs is. The Master would usually rather trick people into helping him, because where’s the challenge in asking? It’s not much of a game that way. The Doctor would rather pretend they don’t care as much as they do, because they’re terrified of getting too close to people and then losing them. Doesn’t stop them getting attached, though. And if either of them can make themself look good by mocking the other, they’re all about the banter. 

Did I even answer your questions? Sorry for all the tangents, and for taking forever to answer… It’s just that, like I said, I guess I got a bit excited to talk to someone who understands how mad and strange and wonderful it all is.


End file.
